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Jean Alesi
|status = Retired |firstrace = 1989 French Grand Prix |firstwin = 1995 Canadian Grand Prix |lastrace = 2001 Japanese Grand Prix}} Jean Alesi ( ; born Giovanni Alesi on June 11th 1964 in Avignon, Vaucluse, Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur, France) is a former French Formula One driver who competed in the sport from 1989 until 2001. Despite credited as one of the fastest drivers of his generation, Alesi was only able to secure a solitary win at the 1995 Canadian Grand Prix whilst driving for . Formula One Career Pre-Formula One Alesi was a title contender to fellow Frenchman Érik Comas in the International Formula 3000 in 1989. Alesi eventually won the title, as he had 3 wins compared to Comas' 2. 1989 Alesi made his Formula One début at the 1989 French Grand Prix for , which was also his home race. He qualified 16th and went on to finish 4th in the race. The team's manager, Ken Tyrrell was very impressed that he gave Alesi an 18-month contract. He drove for the rest of the 1989 season while continuing to drive for Formula 3000. When F3000 clashed with Formula One, the seat was taken by Johnny Herbert. 1990 Alesi's 1990 season was his first full year in Formula One. At the season-opening 1990 United States Grand Prix, he led for 34 laps, but would eventually finish 2nd and behind McLaren's Ayrton Senna. He finished 6th at San Marino and then got another podium at Monaco, finishing second. However, Alesi could not manage to score any further points, finishing 9th with 13 points. 1991 Alesi signed a contract with Williams F1 for the 1991 season, but he instead decided to sign for Scuderia Ferrari, fulfilling his childhood dream of driving for the team. However, he could not win a race due to the season for Ferrari being unsuccessful. He could only manage a total of 3 podium finishes. 1992 1993 1994 Alesi started the 1994 season by finishing third in the season-opening Brazilian Grand Prix. However, he missed the Pacific and San Marino Grands Prix due to a back injury suffered from a testing accident at Mugello Circuit. He was replaced by Nicola Larini. He set pole position for the Italian Grand Prix, but a disasterous gearbox failure ended his chances of winning. In anger, he drove back to his hometown Avignon at over 200 km/h. He retired five times from Germany to Portugal, but the streak ended in the Japanese Grand Prix, battling with Williams' Nigel Mansell for the final podium spot. 1995 At the 1995 Canadian Grand Prix, Alesi won his first and only Grand Prix, ahead of both Jordan drivers Rubens Barrichello and Eddie Irvine. Alesi was close to win at Nürburgring, but due to low fuel and traffic troubles, he was beaten by Michael Schumacher from Benetton to the finish line. Alesi's final race for Ferrari was at the Australian Grand Prix, which he retired from the race by crashing into Michael Schumacher. 1996 With Schumacher moving to Ferrari for 1996, he moved to Benetton along with his teammate Gerhard Berger. 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 Helmet Design As a tribute for his fellow driver, Alesi wore a helmet that matched that of the late Elio de Angelis. Formula One Statistical Overview Formula One Record Career Statistics Race Wins Career Results | |10th|9th|| || | | |8|9th}} |7th| | | |7th| |8th|11th| |8th| |8th| | |8th|13|9th}} | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |21|7th}} | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |18|7th}} |8th| | | | | | |9th|7th| | | | | | |16|6th}} | | | | | | | | | | | | |10th| | |24|5th}} | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |42|5th}} | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |47|4th}} | |7th| | | | | | | |11th|8th| | | | |13th|36|4th}} |9th| | |10th|12th| |7th| | |10th|7th| | |10th|7th|9|11th}} | | | | | | |14th| |8th|16th|9th|9th| |7th| |2|16th}} | | |10th| |9th| | |14th| | | | |12th| | |11th|0|22nd}} | |15th|12th|11th| |10th| |8th|7th| |5|15th}} Notes Quotes ''"He led at Phoenix and eventually finished second. Now he has the radical new Tyrrell which has been impressive in testing, but still relies on the venerable Cosworth horsepower." ''- Andrew Marriott. Eurosport. 1990 San Marino Grand Prix Build-Up. Category:French Drivers Category:1964 births Category:Living people Category:1989 Début Drivers Category:Tyrrell Drivers Category:Ferrari Drivers Category:Benetton Drivers Category:Sauber Drivers Category:Prost Drivers Category:Jordan Drivers Category:Drivers